In 2025, fire departments serving Worthington responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $540K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
200 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | +29.0% | |
| 2023 | 32 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 50 | +56.2% | |
| 2025 | 47 | -6.0% |
For the 9 building fires Worthington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 64 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 26.6% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Worthington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 40.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 7.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Worthington departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $540,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $133,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Worthington sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,675 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 226 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 155 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 145 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 127 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 123 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 21.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 56187 | 200 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Worthington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.